Spice is just as essential to baking as in cooking.
That’s right, a wide range of spices (all deliberately thought-out) go into your favorite cheesecake slice other than flour, eggs, cheese, and sugar.
So, if you’re trying to learn how to bake, you must know and understand how every spice and baking ingredient interact to make a flavor.
To help you get started, below are some of the most essential baking spices you should have in your pantry and how to use them.
9 Essential Baking Spices You Should Know About
Most aromatic baking spices come from dried plant roots, shoots, fruits, leaves, or bark. They’re typically sold as whole, ground, or blended.
1 – Allspice
Contrary to what its name suggests, allspice is a single baking spice. Yet, it has a combination of flavors resembling cinnamon, nutmeg, pepper, and cloves (hence the name).
Allspice is a dried berry of a plant called Pimenta dioica, a member of the myrtle family of flora. Some also call it the Jamaica pepper, myrtle pepper, paminta, or pimento.
There are many used to allspice—both in baking and cooking. You can use it for various recipes, including cookies, pies, cakes, glazes, and hams.
2 – Cloves
Cloves are dried, unopened flower buds of an evergreen tree, also called the clove tree, native to Indonesia. They harvest the spike-topped buds before they flower, dry, and pack them as whole or powdered before reaching your pantry.
Used in baking, cloves lend a kick of spicy sweetness to your baked goodies. It’s strong, distinct, and pungently warm, making it a perfect spice for winter holiday classics like pumpkin pies, cookies, and cakes.
3 – Mace
Mace is a delicate, aromatic spice from the East and West Indies. It’s the dried membrane of the nutmeg fruit surrounding the seed, so people also referred to it as nutmeg’s “sister spice.”
This peculiar yet lesser-known pantry resident typically comes grounded. Its taste is a medley of citrus, pepper, and cinnamon.
In many cuisines, mace is usually a seasoning blended with other spices like clove and allspice. For baking, mace is used primarily in desserts owing to its sweet and warm aroma.
4 – Nutmeg
The sister of mace, nutmeg is the powdered seed of the nutmeg fruit. It has a warm, slightly nutty, sweet, and woody flavor.
You can use nutmeg in small amounts in baking. This aromatic spice can add richness and depth to your recipes and is commonly used for desserts like pumpkin pies and eggnog.
5 – Ginger
Here’s a spice with no need for introduction: ginger. However, you might wonder what it does for your baked recipes.
Ground ginger creates an interesting contrast of flavors, especially in sweet desserts.
Its bright, slightly spicy taste can transform your pumpkin pies, quick bread, and spice cookies into a treat that’ll make you lick your plate clean.
6 – Cinnamon
Salt and pepper might be the most essential duo when cooking, but cinnamon takes that very spot in baking. It’s incredibly versatile with plenty of delicious and practical applications!
The fragrant spice comes from the bark of an evergreen tree called the Cinnamomum verum. It’s a widely popular ingredient for many cuisines mainly for its potent aroma and spicy taste.
Cinnamon helps create flavor and color for many baked dishes, including cinnamon bread, rolls, pancakes, scones, and butter flour.
7 – Star Anise
Star anise is a spice that’s been in use for centuries for many cooking cuisines and baking recipes. It’s mainly used to add that subtly sweet, mildly spicy, and aromatic taste to meat, liquors, and baked goodies.
The seed comes from a flowering plant of the parsley family. It’s native to the Eastern Mediterranean and Southeast Asia but is now cultivated worldwide.
One popular use of anise in the pantry is for cookies, mixing ground anise into the dough for that extra tasty flavor. Compotes, pies, and tarts can also benefit from anise seeds.
8 – Vanilla Extract
I’m sure you already know about vanilla. But did you know the extract or essence comes from an exotic orchid-type plant you can only find in Central and South America?
In its purest form, vanilla extract is the product of chopping vanilla orchid bean pods and soaking them in alcohol. The resulting spice is the vanilla taste you and I have grown familiar with.
Besides flavor, however, vanilla also contributes to the texture and moisture of your cake slice.
9 – Ground Cardamom
Native to Guatemala, Sri Lanka, and India, cardamom is another must-have spice if you’re to master baking. This spice has a distinctive mix of flavors (peppery, fruity, citrusy, and piney with hints of menthol).
That said, when added to your dough, cardamom lends a unique warmth and depth to the finished product. Some even call it the queen of baking spice!
Final Thoughts
There you go! Those are nine of the most essential baking spices you should always have in stock in your pantry if you want to improve your baking.
Learn to use these spices, blend them into your dough, experiment with their flavors, and elevate your every bite!
Sarah is the founder of Baking Kneads, LLC, a blog sharing guides, tips, and recipes for those learning how to bake. Growing up as the daughter of a baker, she spent much of her childhood learning the basics in a local bakery.